Fianna Fáil’s Transport Spokesperson Robert Troy has said increases in public transport fares introduced in December are ‘ill timed for ordinary commuters’.

The new public transport fares announced by The National Transport Authority on 18th October, took effect from Saturday 01 December.

According to the NTA, having a ‘flat rate’ is part of the process to ‘simplify’ public transport fares in the Dublin area.

“There are savings of around 30% for customers using Leap cards compared to cash, so it make sense for people to make that switch.”

-NTA

Iarnród Éireann (Pic: InsideIreland.ie)

According to the NTA, for Iarnród Éireann passengers, the changes mean ‘a reduction of almost 6% in the monthly and annual Short Hop Zone fare for DART and Commuter services’.

Leap fares for single journeys within the Short Hop Zone will also change, as they converge to a flat fare.

The NTA said that most intercity Iarnród Éireann express single fares ‘will drop by 5%, the second such decrease in as many years’.

Dublin Bus

For bus fares on Dublin Bus and Go-Ahead Ireland services, the NTA said the move to fare simplification means the current €2.60 Leap fare for journeys of over 13 stages ‘will drop to €2.50’. The €2.15 Leap fare for journeys of 4-13 stages will increase to €2.25.

NTA claim that while there is no change to the €3.30 cash fare for journeys over 13 stages, the €2.85 cash fare for journeys of 4-13 stages will increase to €3.00.

Luas

For Luas, the NTA state that as part of the ‘fare simplification process’, there will no longer be a distinction between peak and off-peak Leap fares.

Bus Éireann

For Bus Éireann, the NTA said there was ‘good news for passengers’ in some towns in Co Cork and in Waterford City.

There will also be a new one-day student fare of €4.00 in Galway, Limerick and Waterford.

Dublin

The National Transport Authority also announced it is introducing a new annual add-on ticket for the Dublin region, costing €600.

Fare Revenue

The NTA said the total annual fare revenue, which is about €500m annually, will increase by an estimated €1m in 2019.

NTA Chief Executive Anne Graham said part of the BusConnects plan is to revamp the fare system ‘to provide a simpler fare structure, allowing seamless movement between different transport services without a financial penalty.’

“To deliver on this part of the programme, a revised fare structure is required for public transport in the city which will support seamless movement between different public transport services and modes without a financial penalty.”

-Anne Graham, NTA

According to Fianna Fáil’s Robert Troy, the National Transport Authority ‘might well see the changes as part of their objective’ to simplify the pricing of services across the board but that ‘it is hard to see how this is helpful’.

“There is a strong argument about simplifying the existing fare system in place but that could be done by introducing universal ticketing or fare prices not charging the commuter more for their loyalty.

“Fact of the matter is, that if today’s changes were part of a grand plan to aid passengers and to help transition to better fare structures, it has been approached in the wrong way and at the wrong time.”

Inside Ireland

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